This spring we traveled down to San Marcos de Colon in Honduras to COCASAM, a 63 member cooperative that Allegro has been purchasing from for almost 5 years.

Along with the cooperative management our sourcing team organized a cupping competition between all of the growers to find the top coffees for our Special Reserve. Our original thought was to choose the top 10 coffees, but these growers were so incredible we actually came away with coffees from 16 amazing farms. Organizing a competition at origin like this is an Allegro first and we are so excited to share the winning coffees with you and have you meet the people there. These farmers are the true rock stars of specialty coffee! See if you can taste a difference between their coffees!

The farmer’s microlot number is printed near the barcode on the back of each 12 oz. bag.

LOT #27 Ramon Victor Ordoñez
Ramon Victor Ordoñez, a current member of the directive board of producers of COCASAM, is planning a transition to organic manure fertilization throughout his farm, and is working on replacing coffee trees that have been lost in the last decade.

LOT #12 Luis Ramón Tercero
Luis Ramón Tercero comes from a family with a rich history of coffee growing expertise. With his brother Jose Andrés and son Juan Carlos, he also produces tomatoes and tilapia and manages a vermicompost program. Don Luis also runs a small wet mill that provides services to other smaller coffee producers for a friendly, low price. He’s recently acquired a depulper machine, which will help increase his production.

LOT #56  Cesar Eleazar Betancourt
Cesar Eleazar Betancourt is new to the coffee business; he inherited his land from his family in 2003. Though the total extension of his farm is about 210 hectares, 190 of those consist of protected forest. Cesar will replant 7 new hectares of bourbon and buy approximately 7000 new coffee trees. Though he’s not pruned his crop in the past, he’s seen the positive results the practice has brought to many other producers, and plans to do his first selective prune after harvest.

LOT #29 Pedro Ramón Tercero
Only 8.4 of the beautiful 210 hectares owned by Pedro Ramón Tercero are currently dedicated to coffee—the majority of his land is made up of a mix of protected reserve and pasture land rented to cattle owners for extra income. However, he intends to increase his farm in size and production by nearly 50% in the near future, through the planting of 9000 new coffee trees on 3 hectares of newly dedicated land.

LOT #32 José Aristides Maradiaga
Jose Arstides Maradiaga recently suffered a brain hemorrhage, which sadly left him without the ability to speak and think clearly. Because of  this, his eldest son José Luís Maradiaga (pictured) has taken over the farm’s management. Balancing the needs of his father’s health with the continued development and growth of his microlot coffee farm is a challenge for Jose.  Nonetheless, he is determined to begin a pruning cycle on his farm, as well as expand its production by preparing an unused portion of the farmland for the planting of new coffee trees.

LOT #16 Jose Andrés Tercero
Jose Andrés Tercero owns one of the most beautiful farms of the region, comprised of 182 hectares, only 9 of which are dedicated to coffee. (The remainder of his land is part of a protected forest reserve.) This year, Jose is dedicated to the application of organic manure farm wide, as well as the inception of a five-year pruning cycle. He is also hoping to expand his farm through the acquisition of a neighboring lot, where he would like to plant bourbon.

LOT #31 Michelle Corrales Guevara
Michelle Corrales Guevara currently lives in the U.S., and depends on his uncle, Ricardo Corrales, to make his farm’s day-to-day operational decisions. Ricardo is very excited about transitioning a part of the farm from conventional to organic, and is working on sourcing and buying organic compost to fertilize most of the farm.

LOT #41  Angel Enrique Sandoval
Angel Enrique Sandoval plans to buy new trees to replant areas of his farm that have been lost in years past; he also hopes to renovate his old plantation by initiating a new three-year pruning cycle. The experience of bringing his special microlot to Allegro Coffee Company has heightened Angel’s awareness of the value of his coffee. He’s dedicated to devoting more time and energy to improving its quality, and is currently working to buy more land to increase his farm size and production.

LOT #50  Marco Antonio Ponce
Marco Antonio Ponce is starting a tissue management program that will include the strategic pruning and replanting of some areas of his farm. Marco also recently reclaimed 2 hectares of nearby abandoned land and prepared it with 5000 new plants to increase his coffee production. He’s currently building a wire fence around the perimeter of his property that will help secure his coffee during harvest season.

LOT #52  Juan Carlos Tercero
Juan Carlos Tercero has been growing coffee all of his life; it was only when he was given a small piece of land by his father (also a coffee grower), that he has known the first-hand challenges and rewards of owner/farmer/grower. With his father and uncle, Juan Carlos manages a cattle herd, raises tilapia, produces tomatos, and has a vermicompost program. On his own microlot coffee farm, he is planning to initiate a three-year pruning cycle.

LOT #40  Eugenia Valladares
Eugenia Valladares has been working with coffee for the past decade. She is a very enthusiastic woman, and an active member of the directive board of the local co-op. Eugenia is devoted to upgrading her small, rustic wet mill and building a better home for her new depulper machine—one with a stand made of bricks and cement, and a zinc roof to protect it from rain. Eugenia will also prune her coffee plantation over a period of three years at the end of next harvest.

LOT #21 Pablo René Rodriguez
Pablo Rene Rodriguez produces coffee on only 3 of his 7-hectares; the rest of the land is currently not used for farming. However, he hopes to change that very soon, and is preparing to plant over 10,000 new coffee trees on the 4 unused hectares. He is also planning to replace shade trees that were lost in 1998, during hurricane Mitch.

LOT #6   Juana Ramona Guillen
Though Juana Ramona Guillen has been involved with coffee all of her life, she has a new interest in pruning methods, which she learned through sessions with the local co-op. She is now devoted to the initiation of a three-year pruning cycle on her own microlot farm.

LOT #18   Daniel Antonio Ordoñez
Daniel Antonio Ordones has been producing coffee for the past 35 years, though he recently reduced his farm’s size by a third when he passed part of it to his three sons. His dedication to farming includes a personal garden, where he grows vegetables for his own family’s consumption. He also runs a small cattle farm. Daniel’s plans for his microlot coffee include focused pruning and shade management over the next five years; as well as a farm-wide transition to organic fertilization.